New Brunswick’s official languages commissioner says she is dismayed by the results of a recent investigation.
Shirley MacLean said her office received complaints about the Department of Health’s MyHealthNB platform.
The app allows residents to access their lab results, medications, immunization records and imaging reports.
MacLean said while complainants could navigate the platform in English, their language of choice, certain medical test results were only available in French.
“In my view, MyHealthNB offers services that are intended for the public,” the official languages commissioner said in a news release accompanying her report on Wednesday.
“It’s clear to me that all documents available on the platform are meant to be accessible by patients and are not solely internal documents that are created in the language of work of health-care establishments.”
MacLean said there is an “egregious disconnect” between the information provided by the Department of Health’s platform and its linguistic obligations under the Official Languages Act.
There is a disclaimer on the website noting that some information on the platform is displayed only in the language of its originator.
However, MacLean said this demonstrates a “conscious effort” by the department to ignore its statutory language obligations.
“I am both dismayed and fervently opposed to this use of disclaimers or warnings,” said the watchdog, noting this creates a “very dangerous precedent.”
MacLean has recommended the department immediately stop using disclaimers and only provide medical records in the patient’s official language of choice.
She is also requesting an update from the health department regarding its work on the MyHealthNB platform within six months.
